Reviewed by USGSChile12y ago
M4.2 earthquake 172 km ESE of Iquique, Chile
Saturday, May 17, 2014, 06:34:15 UTC · 20.911°S, 68.672°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 172 km ESE of Iquique, Chile on Saturday, May 17, 2014, 06:34:15 UTC, at a depth of 133.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 133 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
65 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
133 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on June 11, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 783 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.293 km NW of Iquique, ChileApril 1, 2014 · 262 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 116 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 203 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 195 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.753 km SW of Iquique, ChileApril 3, 2014 · 193 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 198 km N of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 171 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 164 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,416 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 200 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 116 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 2014M8.2
Northern: Iquique, Alto Hospicio
1 Apr 2014 · 262 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 251 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 132 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 195 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.